I have had the streering column off several times and have put in the 0-rings that were called for plus have tried other ones that I thought may stop the leak put alas each and every time it still leaks. Does anyone have any suggestions to this problem?

I assume it is leaking around the steering shaft, just below the steering wheel? Have you replaced all six identical orings in the valve bore? Are they damaged each time you replace them? Are you sure you have gotten them in the proper grooves? Did you replace the oring and seal in the adjuster nut just below the steering wheel. When it leaks, does it forcefully blow out the seal? How long do you run it until it leaks?

It is leaking at the guide where it slides into the steering column. It calls for 2 different 0-rings 1 with and 1 without backup ring. Tried both and neither would work. Used number off the steering column (casting) to get 1 0-ring and used the number off of the tractor to get the other 0-ring. I am at a loss.

The casting number is off of a 300B Loader and Backhoe from what the JD parts man says. I have that same page where you got the numbers from. I also have the page from the 300B (1428) and have used seals from both. I just got a little mirror so that I can hopefully see exactly where it starts leaking from. I believe the guide (26) on the 301 page is what is not sealing. After it builds up pressure it leaks where the column goes on the bell housing or the top of the steering column.

If the guide #26 leaks, it will not leak externally. It would cause an internal leak. If it is leaking where the valve housing bolts to the clutch housing, then gasket #14 would be at fault. Can you get a picture of where the leak is?

It is leaking between 0-ring #24 and guide at housing. Which in turn fills up the void at the bell housing below where steering casting bolts on..pressure builds up in void and in turn forces it to leak at gasket #14. I have been told there is supposed to be a certain amount of hydraulic fluid in void. I believe the hydraulic fluid that is in the void is supposed to come down through #22.

After it builds up pressure it leaks where the column goes on the bell housing or the top of the steering column.

Pressure is not supposed to be able to build up in that pocket. Supposed to have a bleed-off hose there that sends that extra oil to the little reserve oil-tank in front of the radiator.

All those steering valves leak a little oil into the bottom.

You DO have that plastic hose working I assume? Are you sure it isn't kinked somewhere? And I assume you are sure none of the 6 hard o-rings in the housing that seal against the two cartridges aren't damaged?

I hate to contradict jdemaris because he is usually absolutely correct, but I think he is mistaken on the plastic tube. That is strictly a vent for the reservoir. When the hydraulic pump demands more oil than the trans pump delivers, the extra oil is drawn out of the reservoir and the plastic tube draws air from the transmission case to allow the oil to flow out. The cavity for steering should drain directly into the transmission by way of a drilled passageway in the clutch housing. If there is a buildup of pressure in there, I think the drilled passage must be plugged. If you clean out the cavity, look in the rear part of it for a 1/4" or 5/16" hole. Try running a stiff wire through it to be sure it is open. Actually I have a hard time believing a buildup of pressure in there is causing the leak. I would thing the pressure would blow the seal on the pitman arm shaft on the left side of the tractor before the gasket would blow. Are you sure the steering valve housing is not cracked maybe?

I will check to see the things you have suggested. The oil that is filling up the cavity is leaking out the large o-ring on the guide. The o-ring seals the oil that is in the valve assembly which pushes the piston for the power steering. The pressure in the cavity is coming from the power steering unit. I assume that is what is making it leak at the gasket that bolts to the bell housing. Thank you both for your assistance and I will get back with my findings.

I hate to contradict jdemaris because he is usually absolutely correct, but I think he is mistaken on the plastic tube. That is strictly a vent for the reservoir.

That is not universally true. On the Dubuque/Manheim 1020, 1030, 300, 301, 302, 300B, etc. . . . Deere always used some sort of system to bleed up oil from the bottom of the power steering valves - when it's a closed-center system. Some early machines have open-center steerring a differ a bit.

The way Deere did it varys with machine and serial #. Also varies by option package- with hi low, with reverser, without either, etc. I have two 300s and one 300B and all three have plastic bleed-off lines hooked to the bottom of the closed-center steering valve. Deere used to do the same with the front hydraulic pumps when 2.4 c.i. or bigger.

The little hydraulic reserve tank in front of the radiator has several lines hooked to it, along with a check-ball. It serves several purposes, NOT just one.

I cannot say one way or the other what this person has on his machine. I havebn't seen any photos and often on machines that are 40-plus years old, things get changed over time.

I will check to see the things you have suggested. The oil that is filling up the cavity is leaking out the large o-ring on the guide. The o-ring seals the oil that is in the valve assembly which pushes the piston for the power steering. The pressure in the cavity is coming from the power steering unit. I assume that is what is making it leak at the gasket that bolts to the bell housing. Thank you both for your assistance and I will get back with my findings.

It seems to me that your problem has to be one of three possibilities.

#1 is/are the 6 big, hard o-rings in the housing that the two cartridges seal against. Deere had many problems with them blowing until they changed the material. They used to be soft black Buna rubber. Deere changed to a hard, gold-colored plastic ring (early 80s). I haven't bought those o-rings in 15 years, so not sure what they look like now. The the top ring used to blow, and then oil would come out by the steering wheel.

#2 is maybe a bad cartridge. Note - I've never seen that happen, but we did change a few failed ones for other reasons. Deere never sold any repair parts for them - just complete cartridges.

#3 drain oil not leaving the housing. Your setup is probably as the other poster mention - with ported draining back to the trans-housing. I've never seen one that was non-functional, but anything is possible.

Register Now

In order to be able to post messages on the MyTractorForum.com - The Friendliest Tractor Forum and Best Place for Tractor Information forums, you must first register.
Please enter your desired user name, your email address and other required details in the form below.

User Name:

Password

Please enter a password for your user account. Note that passwords are case-sensitive.

Password:

Confirm Password:

Email Address

Please enter a valid email address for yourself.

Email Address:

Log-in

User Name

Remember Me?

Password

Human Verification

In order to verify that you are a human and not a spam bot, please enter the answer into the following box below based on the instructions contained in the graphic.